Antimicrobial Efficacy of Contemporary Obturating Materials used in Primary Teeth- An In-vitro Study

Preservation of primary tooth with non-vital pulp has been a major problem for pediatric dentist. In such cases, the preferred treatment modality is pulpectomy. The objective of pulpectomy is complete removal of necrotic and irreversibly infected pulp of an affected tooth but, in spite of chemomechanical preparation and copious irrigation of canal, there are chances of failure of pulp therapy due to the entrapped micro organisms in the canal space owing to the tortuous and complex nature of the root canal system and change in their morphology with root resorption. Thus, for optimal success of endodontic treatment, obturating material with antimicrobial properties is advocated in deciduous teeth.

The aim of the study was to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of different obturating materials used in pediatric dentistry.

In the present study, antimicrobial efficacy of endoflas, Zinc Oxide Eugenol (ZOE), calcium hydroxide with chlorhexidine, calcium hydroxide with iodoform and distilled water, metapex and saline as control were assessed and compared with each other. The antimicrobial efficacy of obturating materials was evaluated against E. faecalis (ATCC 29212) by agar diffusion method. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 15.0. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Post-Hoc Tests (Tukey-HSD) were performed to reveal the statistical significance.

Intergroup comparison at 24 hours (Tukey's test) revealed significant difference amongst all the groups. Endoflas had significantly higher zone of inhibition as compared to all the other groups except group treated with ZOE (p-value <0.001).

The antimicrobial activity of obturating materials according to results obtained from the present study can be summarized as follows: Endoflas > ZOE >Calcium hydroxide + Chlorhexidine > Calcium hydroxide + Iodoform +Distilled water ~ Metapex > Saline.